Strike Cruiser
]] Chapter]] vessels of the Blood Ravens Chapter]] ' unusually large Chapter Fleet]] Chapter]] A Strike Cruiser is the second major type of starship usually deployed by the fleets of the Adeptus Astartes. While a Space Marine Chapter only rarely will deploy the might of a powerful and usually quite ancient Battle Barge, Adeptus Astartes Strike Cruisers are a more common sight, though anything to do with the Space Marines is still a rare event in the galaxy. Often the arrival of a Space Marine Strike Cruiser is enough in itself to quell the defiance of a star system rebelling against the Emperor. The Astartes are quick to act if the surrender of the Emperor's foes is not rapid and immediate. Strike Cruisers are fast, lightly-armed starships which mass slightly less than the Imperial Navy's ''Dauntless''-class Light Cruisers. Their primary function is to provide rapid response, as they are usually the first Imperial defenders to arrive at a threatened Imperial world. Strike Cruisers are capable of carrying one full company of Space Marines as well as all of their needed armoured support vehicles. They have been known to deploy their full contingent of Astartes within only twenty solar minutes of their arrival in orbit of a target planet. Like Battle Barges, Strike Cruisers do not represent a single class of Imperial starship or a specific, standardised configuration of weapons systems and other capabilities, but actually represent a large range of different Space Marine starships in the Light Cruiser tonnage class that are used for the same basic tasks. Firstly, Strike Cruisers must be fast, with a substantial troop transport capacity and multiple means for delivering troops to a planetary surface rapidly, whether that be through the use of teleporters, Drop Pods, or launch bays equipped with Thunderhawks. Within the demands of these basic operational parameters, Strike Cruisers can actually take a wide array of different physical forms, although most of them have become outfitted with the mighty Bombardment Cannon to support landing troops from orbit. The Grey Knights, perhaps the most elite and secretive of the Space Marine Chapters, maintain their base on Saturn's moon of Titan within the Sol System itself, close to Mars and the primary shipyards of the Adeptus Mechanicus, so their Strike Cruisers are highly advanced vessels, utilising the most advanced weapons, armour, Warp-Drives, Void Shields and other systems available in the Imperium, even by the already high technological standards of the Space Marines. The Grey Knights' Strike Cruisers are piloted by the most elite and finest Navigators in the Imperium, capable of navigating efficient courses through the chaotic Warp. The Grey Knights fleet is based at the Broadsword Station, located in orbit above the moon Titan. Other Astartes Chapters also possess widely differing forms of Strike Cruiser, each shaped by the Chapter's long centuries of tradition and varying tactical doctrines. The Strike Cruisers pictured here simply represent several possibilities for this wide array of physical differences. History The conception of the Strike Cruiser is believed to rely heavily on the original plans for the Ebon Drake, a new type of vessel originally called an "Assault Cruiser" that was developed by the XVIII Legion -- the Salamanders -- a scant few Terran years before the start of the Horus Heresy. Allegedly, the Primarch Vulkan himself had a hand in the Ebon Drake’s creation and also gifted its plans to several of the other Primarchs and their Legions, but only a few prototypes were built before the galaxy was engulfed in civil war. It would not be before the beginning of the Great Scouring in 019.M31, when the victorious Loyalists set out to purge the galaxy of the Traitor Legions, that the Ebon Drake’s design was refined in preparation for the construction of similar vessels for the newborn Adeptus Astartes Chapters of the Second Founding. Vanguard Cruiser Fleet-based Chapters also make use of a vessel called a Vanguard Cruiser that is a refit variant of the standard Strike Cruiser intended to undertake long-range, long-duration operations independent of support from the rest of the Chapter, often serving as reconnaissance or exploratory vessels for the Chapter fleet or as Heavy Escorts. Vanguard Cruisers are less capable of undertaking planetary assaults like normal Strike Cruisers because their weapons profile has been optimised for ship-to-ship combat, planetary exploration, reconnaissance and boarding operations. Notable Strike Cruisers *''Andronius'' of the Emperor's Children *''Angelica Mortis'' of the Excoriators *''Aeruginosus'' of the Raven Guard *''Armageddon'' of the Blood Ravens *''Capulus'' of the Imperial Fists *''Captain Augusta'' of the Exorcists *''Claw of Justice'' of the Red Talons *''Claw of Russ'' of the Space Wolves *''Covenant of Blood'' of the Night Lords *''Dread Argent'' of the Silver Skulls *''Dorn's Wrath'' of the Black Templars *''Ebon Drake'' of the Salamanders *''Echo of Damnation'' of the Night Lords *''Eternal Faith'' of the White Consuls *''Eternal Defiance'' of the Exorcists *''Heritor of Ages'' of the Consecrators *''Hermes'' of the White Consuls *''Holy Execution'' of the Red Talons *''Hunter'' of the Exorcists *''Ladon'' of the Star Dragons *''Mark of Honour'' of the Storm Wardens *''Majesty'' of the Black Templars *''Ophidian'' of the Blood Swords *''Ophidium Gulf'' of the Black Templars *''Purest Intent'' of the Shadow Wolves (captured by xenos raiders) *''Purgatory'' of the Marines Malevolent *''Quicksilver'' of the Silver Skulls *''Raven's Valour'' of the Raven Guard *''Ravenous Spirit'' of the Blood Ravens *''Rage of Erudition'' of the Blood Ravens *''Retribution'' of the Blood Ravens *''Revenant'' of the Reclaimers *''Rubicon'' of the Grey Knights *''Shield of Valour'' of the Imperial Fists (captured by the Iron Warriors) *''Slaughtering Star'' of the Fire Hawks *''Star Jackal'' of the Marines Errant *''Stormwolf'' of the Space Wolves *''Terrible Angel'' of the Imperial Fists *''Titus'' of the Imperial Fists *''Triumph'' of the Raven Guard *''Vae Victus'' of the Ultramarines *''Valin's Revenge'' of the Ultramarines *''Vengeance Incandescent'' of the Imperial Fists *''Vulkan's Wrath'' of the Salamanders *''Warrior of the Plains'' of the White Scars *''Wolf of Fenris'' of the Space Wolves (captured by the Red Corsairs) See Also *'Battle Barge' *'[[Gladius-class Frigate|''Gladius-class Frigate]]' *'''Gloriana''-class Battleship' *'''Nova''-class Frigate' *'Rapid Strike Vessel' *'''Hunter''-class Destroyer' *'Vanguard Cruiser' Sources *''Codex: Black Templars (4th Edition) *''Codex: Blood Angels'' (5th Edition) *''Codex: Dark Angels'' (5th Edition) *''Codex: Grey Knights'' (5th Edition) *''Codex: Space Marines'' (5th Edition) *''Codex: Space Wolves'' (5th Edition) *''Battlefleet Gothic: To Cleanse the Stars'' (Novel) by Andy Chambers and Matt Keefe *''Ultramarines'' (Novel Series) *''Grey Knights'' (Novel Series) *''Helsreach'' (Novel) by Aaron Dembski-Bowden *''Legends of the Space Marines'' (Anthology), "Cover of Darkness" by Mitchel Scanlon *''The Horus Heresy - Book Six: Retribution'' by Alan Bligh, pg. 35 *Horus Heresy Novel Series *''Dawn of War II - Chaos Rising'' (PC Game) *''Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II'' (PC Game) Category:S Category:Chaos Space Marines Category:Chaos Spacecraft Category:Cruisers Category:Imperial Spacecraft Category:Imperium Category:Space Marines Category:Space Marine Vehicles Category:Spacecraft